The single museum I had time to visit during my days in Montreal was chosen because of its location. It was at 25 minute walking distance from Concordia University where the circus conference took place that day and thus could be explored during the lunch break. Turns out, it was the perfect choice, for the building alone.

Arsenal Art Contemporain is located in a former 19th-century shipyard, that measures over 80,000 square feet. The building was erected in 1846 by the entrepreneur Augustin Cantin for the Montreal Marine Works and by 1857 was deemed the biggest shipyard in Montreal employing between 150 – 250 employees and producing steamboats for close to a hundred years before closing its doors. In 2011, Arsenal Contemporary took over, making just minor architectural adjustments.

The vastness of the halls lets the art breathe, unfold without crowding and bathe in light at least in some of the halls. On offer was an exhibit called Alternate Realities which was in turn wickedly sarcastic and delightfully funny, at least for this viewer, who once again ignored the demands of serious art criticism and just had a blast with a crop of younger artists who went for the jugular.

From their catalogue: “At a time where the virtual collides with the real world, reality multiplies itself. In a world of accelerated mediatization where images are everflowing, the truth becomes increasingly hard to decipher.”

And here is someone we miss:

Here is something altogether different:

More wisdom from the curator:

I was even drawn into a piece by Anselm Kiefer, who I usually don’t take to, given his loose relationship with the truth and his self aggrandizing. His painting fascinated me in this single instance perhaps because of or perhaps in spite of its German connotations and reference to religion. Here is an older review of Kiefer’s work that expresses some of my reservations in ways that are more eloquent than what I deliver.

And speaking of Germany:

Sculpture reigned on the upper floor –

My favorite was a piece by Corwyn Lund called 40 years that displayed seemingly identical round mirrors along a hallway, which, on closer inspection, reflected an ever more faded image of the viewer. My immediate question was, of course, how would it look by age seventy? And is the increasing vagueness an outcome of loss of vision, or lack of being seen?

I had no time to watch the videos, but given how much food for thought was already provided it did not seem like a big loss. I highly recommend visiting this museum if you are in Montreal – heads up, though, they have quite limited hours, 4 days total. As long as you supply the art interpretation/statement by yourself you should have quite an interesting time. That said, reading the official statements made for an amusing time as well. I certainly can’t quibble with the choice of what was displayed – a mix that made you think.

Music today is by two blind singers from Mali who have been romantic and musical partners since they met in school. Here they are describing a different reality: